The Courier News from Blytheville, Arkansas · Page 1

BLYTHEVILLE COURIER NEWS THE DOMINANT NEWSPAPER OP NORTHEAST ARKANSAS AND SOUTHEAST MISSOURI VOL. L—NO. 62 Blytheville Courier Blytheville Daily News Mississippi Valley Leader Blytheville Herald BLYTHEVILLE, ARKANSAS, THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 1954 FOURTEEN PAGES SINGLE COPY FIVE CENT! Status Under Review Scientist Says His Loyalty CORNING, N. Y. (AP) — Dr. Edward U. Condon, the former head of the U. S. Bureau of Standards, said last night that Defense Department officials were reviewing his security status. Condon, now research director for the Corning Glass Works, said he was working "exclusively on nonmilitary projects involving no access to classified information" while the review was pending. Condon declined to elaborate when asked whether the Defense Department action constituted a suspension of clearance. He said the current review was in connection with the glass firm's government contracts. Corning does work for the Navy Department. No Security Breach In a statement, Condon said his loyalty to the United States was not at issue in the security review. Nor was there any suggestion, ondon said, that he ever had breached security regulations or had been, indiscreet in handling secret information. He did not say when the review was begun, or by what agency. In Washington. Defense Department officials said a check disclosed no one in the Washington area who knew about the review. One spokesman said the Navy might be handling it. Condon, who resigned from the Bureau of Standards post in October, 1951, to come here, once was , described the House Un-American | <-t en t Eisenhower asked activities Committee as "the weakest link" in the nation's atomic security chain. He has repeatedly denied this. Condon saia ne naa not been consulted by government agencies on classified material since he left government service. He added that during his tenure as a government official his security clearance never had been suspended. Named in Report Condon's name has cropped up in the security investigation of Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer, the phy- cisist who headed the Los Alamos atomic bomb project during World War H. Condon was mentioned in a report made public Tuesday by the special personnel security board of the Atomic Energy Commission that voted 2-1 against reinstating Oppenheimer as a consultant to the government on atomic energy. Condon said he would have no comment on references to him in the Oppenheimer findings except to say that his "right of constituted access to classified information of the government" was under review. He declared that before taking his present position he had had fullest clearances by the Department of Defense and the Atomic Energy Commission. The statement concluded: "In view of the fact that my clearance now is under study by the Defense Department, any statement on the merits of the application for clearance is inappropriate other than to say that my loyalty and devotion to the United j States is (sic) not an issue, and ! there has been no suggestion that j I ever breached security regulations or that I was indiscreet in the handling of classified ni formation." The majority report on Oppenheimer. signed by Gordon Gray, chairman of the special board ,and Thomas A. Morgan, stated that the physicist was a "loyal" citizen and that he had been "discreet" in his handling of secret matters. Intervention Cited The report mentioned two instances, however, in which it said Oppenheimer. at Condon's instigation, had intervened in behalf of persons whose loyalty had been questioned. The report stated that Oppenheimer, in 1949, had confirmed before the Un-American Activities Committee the substance of a pre- See CONDON on Page 5 Co/in Claims BrowneII Instigated Hearings BULLETIN WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. McClellan (D-Ark) proposed today Secertary of Defense Wilson or Asst. Secretary Fred Seaton be summoned before the McCarthy-Arms' hearings to explain why they apparently refused to receive information about alleged .Communists in defense plants. WASHINGTON (AP) — Roy M. Cohn said today that Atty. Gen. Brownell or his assistant "instigated" the Army- McCarthy hearings and that this constituted a "stacked deck" against the McCarthy side if perjury charges develop from the hearings. Senate Dps Farm Bill by $40 Million Total Is Now $109,108,978 Above Request WASHINGTON (AP) — An annual farm funds bill carrying $1,083,351,971 — some $109,108,978 more than President Eisenhower asked — won Senate approval late yesterday. A voice vote sent it back to the House, which probably will send it to a senate-House Conference Committee to adjust differences. These involve more than a score of Senate increases totaling about 40 million dollars and two cuts of about 1 : 2 millions in funds voted by the House. Most ol the senate floor maneuvering yesterday centered ! around a 35-million boost in new j loan funds for the Rural Electrification Administration. That agency makes loans to ^extend and improve electric and telephone service to farms, chiefly through cooperatives. President Eisenhower asked only 55 millions of new funds for REA loans. The House upped this to an even 100 million dollars. < The Senate Appropriations Com- Cohn threw out this charge in the 26th day of the Army-McCarthy hearings as Sen. Jackson (D-Wash) pressed a series'of "true or false" questions to Cohn. Cohn testified under oath it was "true" that the Army filed its charges against McCarthy and him after failing in ''blackmail attempts" to try to halt the McCarthy subcommittee investigation of the Army. Laws Read Earlier, when Secretary of the Army Stevens and Army counselor John G. Adams were witnesses, j Jackson had pursued a similar i "true or false" line or questioning, j Jackson read the perjury laws j to Cohn and reminded him that j Stevens and Adams had testified j the "blackmail" charge was false. Cohn insisted this charge had been "proved" by testimony from senators on the subcommittee it- j self . | Cohn referred to testimony by ! the senators that Adams had visited them "to try to kill" a move by the McCarthy subcommittee to subpoena members of the Army Loyalty Board. Cohn said one of the senators (Dirksen, R-I11) had said Adams "hinted" that if the subpoenas were not dropped, "something else would be done." Cohn, said Brownell's office had "instigated" the proceedings, adding that Brownell would be the one to review the testimony and decide who, if anyone, should be prosecuted for perjury (lying under oath). Calls Put in Record In the midst of Cohn's testimony, the first of the much disputed monitored telephone calls, were put into the record. This came when Sen. D i r !: s e n read a trans- script of three talks he had with Secretary Stevens. -Since the early days of the televised ' headings, begun April 22, HIT BY LIGHTNING — This telephone pole vyas struck by lightning during t£e storm that passed over Blytheville last night. The pole is located behind the residence of Richard Wourland at 1026 Pecan. (Courier News Photo) Air Force Says Academy Site Narrowed to 3 Alton, 111., Colorado Springs, Lake Geneva, Wis., Still in Race mittee recommended this figure j there has been off-and-on wrang- and Republican- Senate leaders | ii n g over introduction of telephone on which Stevens had his battled in vain to block the extra 35 millions, saying it was not needed and could not be used. Sen. Douglas (D-I11) led a nearly solid line of Democrats to approve the extra 35 millions by a 42-40 rollcall. The bill provides funds for the Agriculture Department for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The Senate version carries more than 725 millions of new cash plus 358 millions of new loan authority. Eisenhower had requested slightly less than 699 millions cash and 265 \' z millions of loan authority. Jenkins 'Not Candidate' For U.S. Senate Now Dirksen proceeded to WASHINGTON (/P)—Ray H. Jen- i calls after a long argument over kins, special counsel in the Me- j whether the transcripts available Carthy-Army hearings, said today j to the investigations subcommittee "It is news to me" that Tennessee j should be spread on the record. WASHINGTON, (ft — The Air Force-j^ajinounced today that its searcnTor an academy site has been definitely narrowed to three locations — Alton, 111.. Colorado Springs, Colo., and Lake Geneva, Wis. Air Force Secretary Talbott made the announcement, saying the three sites had been recommended by a five-man board and he must make the final choice from amone them. I Talbott said he would make his i decision only after further personal inspections by himself and his staff, and that, he will study thoroughly the problems of land acquisition, engineering and all factors at the three locations before making his pick. Search Started in April The academy selection board started its search at the beginning of April, traveling more than 18.000 miles and reading reports and recommendations involving more than 400 locations proposed investigation of alleged Communist {by civic groups and local commu- UN Security Council Votes 10-1 To Debate Indochina Crisis Geneva Conference Strikes New Deadlock By MAX HARRELSON GENEVA (AP) — Western and Communist • delegates wrestled with a new deadlock today over the thorny question of Red participation in the policing of an Indochina"armistice. calls on which Stevens appointment clerk, John Lucas Jr., take shorthand notes. Dirksen asked whether there were any objection to his reading his calls with the Army secretary. He was permitted to go ahead. All bore on the alleged mistreatment of Brig. Gen. Ralph Zwicker by McCarthy during an infiltration of the Army. In one Stevens said he (Stevens) appeared to be a "yellow-belly" in the row with Sen. McCarthy. Dirksen quoted Stevens also as declaring, "I think I have been a bsolutely crucified and the (armed) services with me," nities. The task of choosing a permanent site for the academy was assigned to Virgil M. Hancher, president of the University of Iowa; B ^ Gen Charles A/Lindbergn: Merrill Meigs. vice president of the Hearest Corp.; Gen. Carl A. Spaatz. first chief of staff of the TB Group to Meet Officers for the coming year will be elected tonight at the annual meeting of the Mississippi County Tuberculosis Assication at 7 o'clock at the Rustic Inn. Dr. W. T. Rainwater will be principal speaker. Republican leaders are circulating petitions' to nominate him as a candidate for the U. S. Senate. Jenkins said he Is "not a candidate" now and. that before making any decision on becoming one he would want to "advise with friends" I could trust and who have my interests at heart." The calls were last February Air porce> &nd u _ Gen Rubert read his , R Harmond, special assistant to the chief of staff for Air Force Academy matters. Legislation authorizing the academy was signed by President Eisenhower on April 1. McCarthy their stand and Cohn stuck to that their own calls to Army officials should not be used unless the Army also supplied transcripts of talks between Army officials. They made no objection, however, to use of Dirksen's calls. Cohn charged Stevens is delib- See McCARTHY-ARMY on Page 5 Baptists Okay Benefit Plan for Ministers ST. LOUIS (IP) — The Southern Baptist Convention has recommended a social security bill for ministers which would provide a contract between the government and the individual without involv- mission. Baptists' position to legislators. The question of racial segregation is expected to come before the convention Friday night in a report of the Christian Life Corn- Agreement on this key point appeared remote as the nine-party Far Eastern conference prepared for another secret session today. The deadlock developed at yesterday's closed-door meeting when Russia insisted that the Communists must be represented on any truce supervision commission. The Western Powers firmly said no. Russia's Foreign Minister V. M. Molotov reflected the gravity of the problem when he told the conference it would be difficult to reach agreement on truce supervisory machinery unless Communists were represented on the proposed agency. One Task Wanted Another difficulty arose yesterday when Pham Van Dong, vice premier of the Communist-led Vietminh. declared the proposed neutral nations supervisory commission should be given only one task —controlling the entry of arms and troops from the outside. He got quick support from Molotov, but France's Foreign Minister Georges Bidault declared that the commission should control all phases of a cease-fire, including regrouping, of forces, policing of ports, watching Red China's frontiers and checking on all war materials. The new difficulties were regarded as extremely serious in view of the importance attached to the policing: problem. Western diplomats have insisted from the beginning that there can be no cease- fire-.^jnless,,there is a truly neutral body to supervise implementation of agreements reached in Geneva, Western officials argue that Communist nations cannot be neutral in a -dispute where one of the parties is Communist. Supervision Is Issue The Reds indicated yesterday they want the major burden of supervising the cease-fire to be borne by mixed French-Vietminh commissions rather than the broader international body. Bidault, on the other hand, said France would agree to hove the neutral commission set up a small mixed subcommittee for local duties. But this, he said, should b elimited in this function and should remain under control of the international group. The Western Powers, meanwhile, continued to study th eques- tion of how the proposed international body should be composed. They generally agreed that it should be made up mostly of Asian nations, but the exact terms of their proposal have not yet been worked out. Russia's scheme for a four-nation commission appeared to have been killed off by Western opposition. The plan called for a Korean- type body — part Communist, the Annual Swimming Classes to Start Here June 14 rest non-Red — for Indochina. The Soviets nominated Communist Poland and Chechoslovakia along- with India nnd Pakistan. Only Soviet Opposes Thailand Request UNITED NATIONS, N. Y. (AP) — The U. N. Security Council voted today over Soviet opposition to debate Thailand's request for a U. N. peace watchdog commission to study the Indochina war threat on Thailand's borders. It wns the first time the Indochina war crisis was put before the U.N. Pote Sarasin, Thailand nrnbassa- dor lo the United SUt.es. launched thec ouncll debate with a charge that the Indochina war not only di- Congress Shooting Trial Is Underway WASHINGTON (AP) — A jury of seven men and five women was chosen in just under an hour today to hear the case of the four Puerto Ricans who shot up the House of Representatives last March 1. Monsoon Bogs Red Activity , HANOI, Indochina I/PI — Heavy 'monsoon rains Inshed northwest: Indochina today, bogging down the feverish movements of Com- munLst-led Vietminh troops and convoys from fallen Dien Bien Phu towards the Rc«d River delta. The heavy rainstorms also forced French warplanes to discontinue for the second day running their plastering of the rebel forces on the march. The most advanced Vietminh elements from the fortress still were around 50 miles from the westernmost perimeter of the French delta defenses. French army sources said a major Vietminh assault on the delta still might come before the end of June. But they still thought the rains might force the rebels to defer attacking until the monsoons end in September. The French high command reported another "calm day" in the delta. Bombers heavily hit Vietminh concentrated in company strength 12 miles south of Hanoi. Fighters dropped delayed action bombs around the post of Chonoi. near Hung Yen. 30 miles southeast of Hanoi. Attacked by the Vietminh four nights running, the post had a quiet period last night. Navy's VTO Plane Gives Public The annual Red Cross swimming classes will begin June 14 at the Moxley Pool at Walker Park. The classes will be sponsored MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. W — The Navy unveiled its Flying Pogo Stick yesterday in the first public! -* Only 12 prospective jurors were challenged — nine of them by the defense. None of them was disqualified on the questions of whether they were prejudiced because of wHnt they read or heard about the shooting spree in which five congressmen were wounded. Trouble In picking a jury had been anticipated because of the great publicity given the shootings. Stoay-fnced Lolitn Lebron. -34. self-styled ringleader of the Puerto Rtcan Nationalist quartet, made one attempt to speak up-as the trial opened before U.S. District Judge Alexander HolUoff. As she was identified to the court,, Mrs. Lebron began, "May I say. . . ." She was shushed by defense counsel, nnd eased back into her chair. As she sat down, she muttered, "I'm sorry." Innocent Picas Entered Mrs. Lebron and her three male colleagues — Rafael Cancel Miranda, Andres Fugueroa Cordero and Irving Flores Rodriguez—had pleas of innocent entered for them. They have been held in jail, in lieu of bonds of $100,000 each, charged on five counts each with assault with intent to kill. Cancel, a towering six-footer, sat beside Mrs. Lebron. who was trim in a light gray suit and low-heel patent leather pumps. Occasionally, they chatted In subdued animation, Mrs. Lebron ngering a pink rosary and a Roman Catholic prayer book. Like Cancel, Fugueroa and Flores wore no ties. They kept their fingers interlaced and occasionally looked about but spoke very little. Defending the four Puerto Ricans, who say they want independence for their country, are four court-appointed attorneys: F. Joseph Donohue, rofmer chairman of the District of Columbia Board of Commissioners, as senior counsel, and Myron G. Ehrlich, Abe oldstein and Ben Paul Noble as associate counsels. The prosecution Ls being handled by U.S. Dist. Atty. Leo A. Rover, with the help of his chief criminal assistant, John Conliff. rectly threatened his country but menaced the legal governments of neighboring Cambodia and Laos. After Sarasin spoke, the council adjourned indefinitely to allow delegations to study the request and get instructions from their capitals. Veto Seen Only the Soviet Union opposed the Thailand request. That act foreshadowed a Soviet veto. In the Council's opening speech, Soviet Delegate Semyon K. Tsarap- kin charged the move would hinder peace in Indochina. He said it would interfer with negotiations at Geneva on an Indochina ceasefire. France switched from its previous opposition to support putting the question on the council agenda for debate. The seven-year conflict thus reached, the talking stage in th« international organization whose "moral sanction" U.S. Secretary of State Dulles has made a condition for American intervention in Indochina. The 11-nalion Security Council was called to meet to examine Thailand's request that, because of the "large-scale fighting" near her borders, military observers be sent to Southeast Asia. Thailand, a member of the U.N. but not of the council, borders Indochina on the west. Two Reasons Diplomatic sources said the Soviet delegation opposed immediate 'council debate on the grounds that (!) this might endanger current negotiations in Geneva for a cease- fire in Indochina and (2) the delegation lacked instructions from Moscow. Thailand's request for U.N". military observers spoke of "dangerous potentialities" of the situation in Southeast Asia and the possibility of an invasion of Thailand. In New Delhi yesterday, an authoritative source said Indian Prime Minister Nehru also was against the council's starting debate on the matter now, for fear it would endanger the Geneva ne- gotations. India is ,not on the council. France also had been against an immediate discussion but was reported yesterday to have changed her position. She did so, diplomat- ci informants said, after it was explained that Thailand wanted observers only on her own territory —not in Indochina. Mrs. Lebron said at her arraign- demonstration of a vertical takeoff i ment she wanted it clearly under- by a wing-type plane. The delta-wing craft made a tethered flight inside the Navy's huge hangar once used for dirigibles. Test pilot J. F. (Skeets) Coleman took the Convair XFY1 up three times and landed vertically. Safety cables prevented him from turning stood why she and her young companions—all in their 20s—were there: "I would like it to be charged (hat what I committed was the defense of my country." jointly by W. L. Moxley, operator j it into its standard horizontal flight Judge James W. had trouble under- plane 3 AEC Members Oppose Increase In Centralization WASHINGTON <ff) — Three of the five members of the Atomic. „ . . . Energy, Commission today protest-| chairman, said all instructors and j infantrymen cover from small j the five congressmen shot was Rep. ed publicly against any increase of class assistants will meet at 2 p.m. j cleared spaces right behind the Alvin H. Bentley (R-Mich), who June 11 to plan the classes. | front lines. I See SHOOTING on Page 5 of the pool, and the Red Cross, i position. The experimental Registration for children will be rose as high as 100 feet. held from 2 until 4 p.m. June 11 at the south gate of the park. When the plane is fully developed, it will allow large vessels to Mrs. Hugh Whitsitt, water safety! carry their own air cover, and give U.S. Dist. Morris, who standing her broken English, asked whether she still pleaded innocent. "Yes, on those grounds," she replied. The most seriously wounded of Belgian Plane Shot Up by Mig; One Man Killed Effective Sales Talk BERKELEY, Calif. (#)—Howard Martin was giving a life insurance sales talk to Paul B. McCracken last night. A bullet crashed through a window and damaged McCracken's radio. Silently Martin extended a pen. McCracken signed. Later, police said Hollis S. Berg, 25. a neighbor, had fired In a futile suicide attempt. His .46 bullet barely graced his side and sped on to McCrackcn's, ing the churches. Nearly all 'Of the 12,000 seats at Kiel Auditorium's Convention Hall were filled when the voice vote was taken. There were no audible dissents. The recommendation had come from the convention's executive committee. An alternate proposal by the committee, which also was approved, was for a -separate social security bill for ministers which would give both the minister and his congregation or employing organization the opportunity to choose whether to participate. Dr. Porter Routh of Nashville, Tenn., executive secretary of the convention' which opene'd yesterday, termed the alternative proposal a ''realistic approach" to guide' convention wh« will present The convention yesterday approved a total budget of $9,100,000 or 1955. This represents an increase of $350,000 over the current year. The figure included $6.100,000 for current operation expenses of aboift 20 boards, seminaries, hospitals, foundations and commissions and $3 million dollars in capital needs. The Rev. Dr. J. W. Storer of Tulsa, Okla.fwas re-elected today to a second term as president of the convention. The Rev. Dr. Homer Lindsey of Jacksonville, Pla,, was elected first vice president, and the Rev. Dr. Oliver R. Shields of St. Louis was named second vice president. The convention, which continues through Saturday, is being at- representativesj tended by an estimated 25,000 per- the Southern i ton* Irom 23 power for the commission's chairman, Lewis L. Strauss. The dispute, which is reported to have been simmering behind the scenes, flared into the open before the Senate-House Atomic, Energy Committee. Henry D. Smyth and Thomas E. Murray entered strong objections, to what Murray called the "present trend toward centralization of authority" in Strauss. Their statements were made to the committee in opposition to a clause of the pending atomic energy bill making the chairman the "principal officer" of the AEC. Inside Today's Courier News ... DC Indians Have That Spark Now? . . . Pony League Opens . . . .laycees Defeat Kiwanis in Little League Play . . . Sports . . pages 6 and 7. . . . . . Auto Industry May Suffer If Roads Aren't Improved . . . . Editorials . . . page 8. . . . . . News of Men in the Service ... pafte .1. . . There is a group of youths in Blytheville who might be termed "nicest kids in town" for their thoughtfulness in honoring one of their fellow students who met with a fatal accident. The staff of a junior high school paper, "Junior Express", donated the total earnings of the paper, 550, to the school library book fund in memory of Jerry Tinnin, 15, son of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur W. Tinnin. Jerry was killed in a traffic accident at the railroad overpass on Highway 61 north of Blytheville May 4. David Warren, 15. son of Mr. and Mrs. Rex Warren of Blytheville edited the bi-monthly publication and praised the aid of his fellow staffers. All worked without rehumeration. Started as an extra curricular activity under the sponsorship of David's English teacher, Mrs. Herma Shepherd, the publication enjoyed a life of about 10 issues before vacation time came around. The dtprtM owned n«w« of David Warren school activ.ties in the Junior high school and averaged about five pages per issue, with an increase to seven pages for the last issue. When word of the piper got around, other students tried out their journalistic talents and the Express soon had a full staff with a circulation manager, sports editor, literary editor and so on. The first issues of the paper were sold for a dime but the price was lowered to a nickel and circulation soared. With paper obtainable from the school at cost and the use of a school duplicating machine, the youthful staff was able to stay out of the red. So well, in fact, that they realized that there was going to be a profit from the undertaking. They decided then to donate whatever profit they made to the library for the book: fund. It was absolutely a non-profit organization from beginning to end and when the year came to a close, the tabloid had a net worth of $50. In the meantime, one of their friends and classmates had met with a fatal accident. Wishing to express their feeling over his loss, the total earnings of the publicntion were given to the library in bit memory. VIENNA, Austria, f/Pl—A Belgian freight plane'was shot up today over Yugoslavia near the Hungarian frontier. Its radio officer was hit by cannon fire and killed. Surviving crewmen said a Russian-made MIG. bearing a red star insigna, dived upon the DCS transport in an apparent attempt to force it toward Hungary. They said the plane opened fire when the Belgian pilot ignored the MIG's maneuverings. Sabena Air Lines, operator of the transport, declared it was attacked "by two fighter planes of unknown nationality." Belgian officials at Belgrade and Frankfurt also said they were informed that more than one attacker was involved. The transport — carrying pedigreed pigs from Britain to Yugoslavia—had a crew of three Belgians and a British co-pilot. The Belgian pilot and a Belgian mechanic were injured. The dead radio man also was a Belgian. Two of the several socre pigs were killed. Weather ARKANSAS — Generally fair, cooler this afternoon and tonight, mild temperatures Friday. MISSOURI —• Gradual clearing and cooler this afternoon and tonight; Friday generally fair and warmer; low tonight 40-45 north to 45-50 south; high- Friday 65-70 northeast to the 70s southwest. Maximum yesterday — 91. Minimum this morning — <W. Sunset today — 7:09. Sunrise tomorrow — 4:47, Mean temperature (midway between high and low) — 75.5. Precipitation last 34 houn to 7:00 m. today — .40. Precipitation Jan. 1 to date — 22.74. ThlB Date Lut TMT Maximum yeaterday — 88. Minimum thin morning — «2. Precipitation January 1 M d*t« —>